Sedro-Woolley, Washington to Marblemount, Washington - July 9, 2020

Written by Anders:

I spent the morning watching a black slug make its way across the top of my tent, leaving trails of feces along its path. Rain had been falling most of the morning and I found myself wondering why there was no sign of life from my dad’s tent as he is usually the one to wake up first. Finally, I heard a stir. He was tired from a restless night the night before and wanted to wait for the rain to pass before packing up and heading out.

The ride started with a short trek down the Cascade Trail to the town of Lyman. We stopped there at a gas station to replenish ourselves. This included filling water bottles, having a bite to eat, and flushing out our bowels. I had trouble accomplishing the latter. My dad said it was probably because of dehydration, which was probably true, however there’s something about sitting on a bike seat all day seems to disrupt the flow. Anyways, after a long stop in Lyman we were finally on our way.

We made good time through the town of Hamilton and Concrete, stopping on our way out of Concrete to have a quick snack. The plan was to grind out the 10 or so miles to Rockport to find a place to grab dinner and stock breakfast, then head another 10 to the town of Marblemount where we would stay for the night. I liked the sound of this because my butt was starting to feel really sore and stopping in Rockport would give me some time to prepare for the final push.

Upon reaching Rockport we were met with bright orange signs. ROAD CLOSED, MAJOR SLIDE, DETOUR. Highway 20 was closed and the convenience store we were supposed to stop at was completely shut down. The alternative route tacked on an extra 3 miles to Marblemount and since the store was shut down there was no reason to hang around. This was a dark moment in the day as my butt was completely numb at this point and another 13 miles on the saddle definitely wouldn’t help my situation. On top of this, the slight drizzle, that was somewhat refreshing, was starting to turn into a heavier rain. Please wake me from this nightmare.

Unfortunately, the only thing we could do was keep peddling. It would be another hour and a half at least until we got to Marblemount and the best thing I could do try and keep a positive mentality. 

After a long haul of a mixture of pain, tiredness, and the loud sound of cars passing right by us (The shoulder was very small and a lot of traffic went through there because of the detour) we made it to Marblemount. The Mondo Diner was a beacon of light in a world that is so dark. We stopped there to have fish n chips and a warm cup of tea. The waitress was very nice and recommended the Buffalo Run Inn which was right across the street.

I’m currently writing this post from a warm bed after a nice hot shower. After all the hardships of the day, everything ended up just about as good as it could of been. Our gear is currently drying from the wetness of the day, and there’s a smile on my face knowing that I have a comfy dry place to sleep tonight. Time to get some rest and get ready for the next slog.